frontlineMissions

c o n t e n t s

FROM THE

HEART OF AlAn

PAGE 2

JEMiMA FindS

“CRAdlE OF lOvE”PAGE 3

CETRAM UPdATE

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GOd CAllEd ME

TO FROnTlinE

(nEW STAFF MEMBER!)PAGE 8

OUT OF THEiR

COMFORT ZOnES

PAGE 9

OnE dAy On

FlOWER MOUnTAin

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COFFEE PROJECT TO

BRinG HOPE, FREEdOM

PAGE 17

dO yOU HAvE

WHAT iT TAkES?

(CHAvARRiA MiniSTRy)PAGE 18

Cover photo: Alan Winter

Inside cover photo: Alan Winter

Publication editor: Autumn Hill Faulkner

Frontline Missions and CETRAM were both graced and honored by the presence ofGuyanese governmental representative, Parliamentary Secretary & Ministry of Housingand Water, Ms. Philomena Sahoye-Shury, C.C.H. (left), shown embracing Heidi Winter.Ms. Shury attended CETRAM’s Grand Opening in February, giving support of the visionof CETRAM to bring hope for the indigenous people of Guyana and Brazil alike.

Frontline’s 2012 ScheduleFEBRUARY

3-12 → Alan to CETRAM, Boa Vista, Brazil

3 - 3/26 → Elizabeth to CETRAM

5-17 → Luis to Honduras

w/ Ballardsville Baptist Church

18-25 → Luis in Honduras

w/ DeHaven Baptist Church

21-27 → Alan & Heidi to Fayetteville, N.C.

for Missions Conference at Manna Church

MARCH

3-11 → Alan & Heidi to CETRAM

w/ Winshape students

11-18 → Alan & Heidi to Mahaica, Guyana

17-24 → Luis to Costa Rica

w/ First Baptist of Atlanta (FBA)

26-4/7 → Luis to Columbia

30-4/7 → Alan, Heidi, Harry, & Elizabeth to

Honduras w/ Landmark Christian School

APRIL

14-21 → Luis to Honduras w/ First Baptist

22-28 → Alan & Luis to Venezuela

w/ FBA

MAY

26-6/2 → Luis to Nicaragua w/ FBA

JUNE

2-10 → Alan, Heidi, & Elizabeth to Honduras

w/ New River Community Church

9-23 → Luis to Honduras w/ Crossroads Church

29-7/7 → Alan, Heidi, & Elizabeth to

Honduras w/ Beulah Baptist Church

30-7/6 → Luis to Honduras w/ FBA

JULY

6-14 → Harry to Guyana w/ Dogwood Church

7-14 → Luis to Nicaragua w/ Crossroads

21-29 → Harry to Guyana

w/ St. James Episcopal Church

27-8/4 → Alan, Heidi, & Elizabeth to Brazil

w/ Manna Church

AUGUST

4-19 → Alan, Heidi, & Elizabeth to

Wai Wai village in Guyana

4-11 → Luis to Nicaragua w/ FBA

12-29 → Luis to Honduras w/ FBA

When I began serving Christ, I

was privileged to live with my pastor

and father-in-the-Lord, Dick Strutz. I

vividly remember sitting at his dining

room table listening intently to mis-

sionaries share

marvelous stories

of God’s faithful-

ness and miracu-

lous power.

In particular, I

remember one

missionary de-

scribing how he

spent years pray-

ing about and

planning to go to

Japan. After

much hoping and

waiting, he and

his family finally

set out for Japan

in the fall of 1942,

only to have the

Pearl Harbor at-

tack occur when

they were in the middle of the Pacific.

They never made it to Japan—yet

God still achieved His purposes! This

missionary and his family ended up in

Australia and New Zealand instead,

and God’s accomplishments through

them are still having an impact around

the globe today. When God says, “All

things work together for good to

those who love God and are called

according to His purposes,” He

means exactly that!

Now, thirty-five years later, I find

myself sharing similar stories of God’s

abundant grace and faithfulness on

the frontlines in my own life and in the

lives of those I have the honor to

work with. I am able to describe how

eleven years ago the Lord gave us a

dream of a training center in northern

Brazil to reach the indigenous peo-

ples of the region, and how finally in

2011 the dream became a reality be-

yond our expectations.

Of course, the reality is wildly dif-

ferent from the original dream, but

CETRAM and its people have been

baptized through fire—including dis-

couragement, mistakes, threats, car

accidents, abandonment, investiga-

tions, failed lawsuits, lies, slander, de-

monically inspired conspiracies,

absence of funds, and life-threatening

diseases. Today, 26 students from five

tribes are radically transformed and

on fire for Jesus, ready to make great

sacrifices to reach their own tribes

and beyond for the Kingdom of God.

This year, we

have also seen God’s

work among a forgot-

ten people (see “Tolu-

pan Indians” article

from 2010 issue). He

has orchestrated a di-

verse group of people

to not only reach them

for Christ, but also to

help them rise from

starvation and the

threat of genocide to

become economically

self-supporting.

Finally, I’ve wit-

nessed Elizabeth Pear-

man’s transformation

from a student on a

high-school mission

trip five years ago to a

full-time Frontline staff member.

Through the use of Storying, Elizabeth

now ministers to people from many

different cultures and languages.

God is and always has accom-

plished His purposes on a global

scale. Are we willing to believe He will

do the same for us individually? This is

where it all begins—you and I believ-

ing God’s Word is true and will be ful-

filled in our lives. “Faith is the

substance of things hoped for—the

evidence of things not yet seen” (He-

brews 11:1).

Page 2

From the heart oF alan

Alan's Alaska trip in June afforded the time to give respect and deserved honor tofathers of the faith, dick Strutz (left) and dick Benjamin (center), who first deposited the very seeds of church planting within Alan.

God’s purposes through the decades

❈

Jemima Chatarpal grew up in

Belem, Para, Brazil, one of 14 chil-

dren in a family of Syrian descent.

After high school Jemima received

her certificate to teach and moved

to Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil, to

continue her education at Federal

University, prompted by her love for

history and her dream of becoming

a teacher.

Shortly after she arrived,

Jemima was introduced to Awan

Chatarpal by mutual friends. They

fell in love and were married in

2002. Jemima continued her edu-

cation and later graduated with a

degree in history.

Being married to Awan added a

lot of spice to Jemima’s life. She

had been raised in a large coastal

city, so life in the ministry was a new

experience. Jemima not only had to

become familiar with ministry in

general, but ministry to remote In-

dian tribes in Brazil’s immense sa-

vannah and jungles. And not only to

just one tribe—eventually God con-

nected them with nine different

tribes from Brazil, Guyana and

Venezuela.

Quickly the call of God in

Awan’s life became Jemima’s. Soon

she began to dream of writing the

history of the tribes—of their strug-

gles, beliefs, customs, how they

eventually came to accept Christ,

and the missions involvement.

Jemima often joined Awan in the far

north as they ministered to large

gatherings of indigenous leaders. At

these meetings several tribes came

together to worship, learn the Word

of God, and share unique customs

and not-so-unique struggles.

From these gatherings and

many fireside discussions, the idea

of a school like CETRAM was con-

ceived and developed—primarily in

the hearts of Jemima and Awan,

who would not be deterred in carry-

ing the idea of a school to full term.

Soon the idea was made reality, and

the newborn school was thrust into

a harsh reality, depending solely on

the prayers of the church for contin-

ued existence.

The same year the school was

set to open, Brazil’s federal govern-

ment imposed a new law requiring

all schools to be overseen by some-

one with a degree in school admin-

istration.

Jemima immediately stepped

up to do her part and headed back

to school for another degree. While

Jemima was studying for her certifi-

cation, Awan kept busy building the

actual campus with six helpers: an

administration/classroom building, a

cafeteria, dorms, and the grounds.

Awan also began training in-

structors and worked with Alan Win-

ter from Frontline Missions to raise

the needed funds to build the cam-

pus, maintain those buildings, and

operate the school on an on-going

basis. Meanwhile, José,

Cetram–Braz i l

By Alan Winter

Page 3

Awan and Jemima Chatarpal outside the new CETRAM facility in Roraima, Brazil.Jemima has been instrumental in CETRAM’s inception, planning, and operation. Shecurrently serves as director at the school.

Jemima finds “cradle of love” at CETRAM

(cont.➤)

CETRAM’s key indigenous leader,

traveled to numerous villages

throughout the region, recruiting stu-

dents to be part of this historical en-

deavor—training other natives from

neighboring tribes!

The school is now flourishing,

thanks to these efforts and also to

Jemima’s hard work, dedication,

and compassion for Brazil’s native

peoples. An atmosphere of grace,

trust, and love has produced a class

of students that will change the

whole region for Christ.

Interview Excerpts

ALAN: Jemima, tell us about

the school CETRAM.

JEMIMA: The school has been

a blessing to my husband, Awan

and me. I learned a lot here; God

gave me a new heart through the

school. Through the students, God

has modified me a lot. I thought that

I was going to teach them, but they

have taught me so much more. I

have to thank each student and

staff that works here. CETRAM is a

big family, united in harmony. God

restored all of our lives.

The students who came here

were sad, timid, and abused; I now

see them happily giving testimonies.

When the students came they

wouldn’t look at you and now they

look at me and pray and worship

with their heads held high.

ALAN: Share with us one of

your greatest joys so far at the

school.

JEMIMA: There are many,

many, many stories, but I will try and

specify one. One student, Romario,

came here with a broken life. He

was involved with drugs and drunk-

enness. His family was also. He was

very bitter and angry due to abuse,

but when he returned home, his

family saw such a change in him

that they asked forgiveness from

him. God freed their hearts and Ro-

mario was able to lead his family to

Christ.

After returning back to CE-

TRAM, Romario began dreaming of

starting a school like CETRAM in his

own region. He says, “Because my

whole family accepted Christ, they

want me to learn more so I can

come back and teach them. They

want me to reach all of the youth so

they can be set free from alcohol,

drugs, and immorality. I want to

reach my whole community for

Christ.”

This brings great joy to my

heart when I see a simple young

man bound by sin, set free and then

God uses him in such a marvelous

way. There have been many, many

joys from each one of the students,

but I wanted to specify this one.

ALAN: What is your name and

why did you come to CETRAM?

ROMARIO (CETRAM student):

My name is Romario and I am a Ma-

cushi from the village of Mutum from

the area of Chiramiota. I came to

CETRAM to learn the Word of God

so that I can take it back to my com-

munity and disciple the people there

so they can learn to walk with Jesus.

I will disciple them by teaching

them the stories from the Bible so

they can learn from the stories how

to live and how God can change

their lives like ours. It is very impor-

tant for me to carry my testimony to

my community, my family, and the

surrounding communities.

One of my dreams is

Cetram–Braz i l

Page 4

Using every moment they can, CETRAM students diligently dig into the Word of God together before they are sent back to their own villages.

(cont.➤)

to open a school to teach the young

people in the area, so that the com-

munity can learn, change, and have

hope. I also want to teach the chil-

dren so that they can learn to re-

spect one another.

ALAN: What was your life like

before CETRAM?

ROMARIO: My life was terrible.

I fought a lot and partied with my

friends the whole night until morning.

ALAN: What do you want to do

after you leave CETRAM?

ROMARIO: I want to start a

new community. A Christian com-

munity with a school that teaches

the Word of God so that students

can learn the stories from the Word

of God...to live in community and

learn practical skills...similar to what

I have learned here at CETRAM.

ALAN: What is your favorite

thing at CETRAM?

ROMARIO: I love to serve by

cleaning, cooking, and repairing. I

love to serve the others.

ALAN: How do you want peo-

ple to pray for the school?

JEMIMA: Finances. We need

to increase the finances to feed the

students better. For clothing, shoes,

school supplies, and a stipend for

the students for personal needs.

For prayer

when they go

back to their

communities.

Many of them

will be the only

believers in their

community.

Many of them

will face dis-

couragement

and opposi-

tions. We ask

for prayer that

they will stand

strong and that

many will come

to Christ as a result of the students’

changed lives and hope that they

now have in Christ.

ALAN: How can we pray best

for you personally?

JEMIMA: I need prayer for my

marriage. I need prayer for there is a

lot of work here at CETRAM and

this has taken a toll on my relation-

ship with my husband. This is what I

need prayer for.

I also want to invite those that

have supported us to come and see

all that God has done in creating

CETRAM into a cradle of love. I can

feel what it is really like to live in

Christ. I didn’t understand this to-

tally but this year I have learned

what it means to live in Christ.

I love coming here every day

and it is worthwhile. The investment

into the lives of these students is

worth it; it is the greatest invest-

ment!

Cetram–Braz i l

Page 5

Jemima speaks to a class at CETRAM. At the time of publication, 26 students from numerous backgrounds and regions were enrolled at CETRAM.

The lord has stirred the heart of Jemima Chatarpal, director ofCETRAM, to serve in a key mother role for all the students.

❈

Praises

By the time of this publication, Pastor José will

have received his four-wheel drive pick-up which will be

used to visit and encourage the CETRAM students in

their home villages. This mentoring previously took him

two weeks of travel by foot, canoe, and vehicle, but he

will now be more productive for the Kingdom thanks to

your support. He is especially grateful to the Lord for

not only providing the necessary vehicle, but one

equipped with the

snorkel and winch re-

quired to navigate

into these remote lo-

cations.

Two students

prayed for a man who

had been bedridden

with a back injury for

over two weeks—and

the man was healed!

The following day he

rode his bicycle to the

farm where the stu-

dents had been work-

ing and joined them in

their labors. When the

chief heard, he asked

the students to return

to win the entire vil-

lage for the Lord!

Prayer Requests

Please pray for the continued equipping of the stu-

dents as they are trained to reach their villages and coun-

try for the Lord. Pray for their protection as they share the

Gospel in what are occasionally hostile environments;

pray for their families as they are absent from them; and

pray for the necessary support for their food, tuition and

travel. Pray for accountability and for the Holy Spirit to

continue His work in their lives not only through their time

at CETRAM, which culminates with their graduation on

July 29, 2012, but also as they go out to labor for the

Kingdom and continue to disciple others.

Pray for the few students who will remain behind at

CETRAM to assist the new students who arrive late this

summer.

Reports

Manasseh, a Wai-Wai student from Parabara,

shared his testimony of Jesus’ transforming power with

his parents, family

and friends, who

were shocked to

see the changes in

his life. Rejoicing

with him, his father

said, “My son,

who was lost and

doing wrong

things, is now

found and is doing

good works.”

Upon receiv-

ing a gift of food

from his father, one

student shared it

with all the other

students. He ex-

plained why he had

shared this cov-

eted commodity:

“We learned in the story of Acts that the early church had

everything in common. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to

do?”

One team ran out of food on their mission trip so

they prayed for the Lord to provide. Immediately they

saw a turtle coming toward the house—and prepared

their evening meal with thanksgiving.

February 2011 marked the grand opening of CE-

TRAM, the Bible training center for indigenous

Cetram–Braz i l

Update: CETRAM flourishing in first year

Page 6

By Alan Winter

Rosane (right, also on front cover) sketches out drawings to help her rememberthe numerous Bible stories and their sequences as Martinilza (left) looks on.

(cont.➤)

people in Brazil and surrounding regions. We were grate-

ful that the Lord built upon the relationships He estab-

lished with local businessmen and political leaders to

help obtain permits and approval from the local govern-

ment. The school’s first class consisted of twenty-six stu-

dents from five tribes chosen by their chiefs to relay the

biblical information, agriculture, computer skills, business

management, and construction back to their villages.

Upon enrollment, many of these students were not

truly interested in the biblical studies; they were away

from their families for the first time, and came from tribes

that had long histories of warring against each other and

spoke different languages. It seemed it would take a

miracle for these students to create a unified spirit.

Within that first week, we taught them eight Bible

stories and soon discovered that drawing them out com-

municated beyond the language barriers. As we dis-

cussed how man was created in God’s image, the

students realized that all men were thereby created equal.

They saw that one culture is not better than another; a

great hush and the presence of the Lord filled the room.

Only those who have worked closely with op-

pressed, degraded, and abused people can fully com-

prehend the magnitude of this revelation. The following

day we learned about Adam and Eve’s disobedience

creating separation from God.

When the students asked how they could be re-

stored to a right relationship with God and no longer

separated from Him, we decided to spend the rest of

the morning putting our trust in Jesus. We experienced

a wonderful time as we saw the transformation of the

countenances of the students that had been separated

from God.

Once the students were united with their Creator,

they entered into a sweet time of worship complete

with tears and dancing. Some of the students had vi-

sions of how the Lord would use them to draw others

to Himself; others experienced healing from past rapes

and hurt, and still others were convicted to forgive past

grievances.

After healing had taken place in their lives, the Lord

opened their eyes to His bright new future for them.

The students were now ready to go out and share the

hope that they had inside of them.

Cetram–Braz i l

Page 7

The students of CETRAM have already had a huge impact on their surrounding regions. in only one year, the students have participated intwo missions and two home visits. 30 students have been sent to 16 different villages, witnessing an amazing 395 salvations and 19 healings.

❈

As the seasons change in my

life, I understand more each day

that life is a journey. Ever since I was

little, missions has fascinated me. I

listened with wide eyes every time I

heard a missionary speak and

hoped for the opportunity to go one

day myself.

When I was 16, I finally got my

chance to visit Honduras with Front-

line Missions in 2006. As I worked in

the medical clinic and pharmacy,

held dirty Tolupan babies who never

laughed or cried, and loved on

barefoot children, my heart was for-

ever changed and I was hooked.

The following year, I was privi-

leged to return to Honduras with my

home church, Beulah Baptist. In my

six years of missions, I have been a

part of sixteen foreign mission teams

to many parts of Honduras and

Guyana. As I was involved with each

team, God was directing my path

and preparing me for the future.

My path took a turn as God

gave me the opportunity to intern

with Frontline Missions in the sum-

mer of 2010. As part of my intern-

ship, I went on trips to Honduras

and Guyana and was trained in Bible

Storying. I ultimately learned the

Panoramic Story, an eight-minute

summary of God’s Story in the Bible.

Each time that I have told the

Panoramic Story—whether to Hin-

dus and Muslims in Guyana, Tolu-

pan Indians in Honduras, or

Americans in my hometown—I have

seen God’s truth communicated to

people’s hearts in a way they can

understand, and as a result their

lives are changed.

It was during my internship at

Frontline that I recognized the call

that God placed upon my life to

share His Story with others, espe-

cially with those who may never

hear it otherwise.

At the conclusion of the sum-

mer, I begged to stay at Frontline

and keep volunteering for them

while I continued my studies at Point

University. I was eagerly adopted

into the Frontline family and have

continued to work and learn under

their wonderful leadership.

As part of my training with

Frontline, I was given the opportunity

to help Alan Winter and Dr. Steve

Crowther instruct Bible Storying

trainers at a course at Grace College

of Divinity in January 2011 and 2012.

Through this experience, God broad-

ened my heart from simply foreign

missions to include a desire to equip

the church in the U.S. to go out and

share God’s Story with others.

As I spent time in Honduras

and Guyana in the summer of 2011,

God continued to direct my heart

towards full-time mission work in

partnership with Frontline Missions.

After my graduation from Point Uni-

versity in December 2011, I happily

joined Frontline Missions full-time in

January 2012.

I look forward to the exciting

opportunities that I will have to serve

as I assist and lead teams in Hon-

duras, Guyana, and Brazil. I will also

be involved in training teams in Bible

Storying as they prepare for their

short-term trips.

In February and March 2012, I

will have the opportunity to work and

live with indigenous students at CE-

TRAM Bible School in Brazil.

We will be translating Bible sto-

ries into their heart languages so that

they can share God’s Story with their

home villages after their own gradua-

tion in July 2012. The opportunities

before me both excite and overwhelm

me with the goodness of God.

God has been faithful to direct

my steps and I am excited to see

where He leads me as I continue to

serve Him in partnership with

Frontline Missions as a Missions

Mobilizer.

Frontl ine–USa

God called me to Frontline Missions

Page 8

By Elizabeth Pearman

Elizabeth scoops up one of God’s precious little ones in Guyana.

❈

Jennifer Nurenberg

Dogwood Church

Peachtree City, GA

My Guyana journey began in

January 2011, when I went to a

women's retreat and picked up an

artist’s rendition of "The Pearl of

Great Price.” Jesus said that the

Kingdom of Heaven is like a mer-

chant looking for fine pearls. When

he found one of great value, he

went away and sold everything he

had and bought it (Matt 13:45-46).

The artist from the retreat, Jan-

ice Van Cronkhite, went on to say,

"As this revelation makes its way

from our head to our heart, WE then

become a pearl of great price to

Him. We are incredibly loved by our

Creator. We become one He can

entrust His mysteries to and, more

importantly, we become His friend."

The reason I chose to go to

Guyana, besides obedience to God,

was to put others first before my

own comfort. Between January and

July, Matthew 13 slowly made its

way from my head to my heart until I

believed it. I thought that my going

on this trip was to make others—

namely the children at Save-R-

Kids—feel valuable, like a pearl.

I felt successful in this mission

with several of the older girls in the

home. I enjoyed relating to three In-

dian sisters and one other troubled

sibling. I remember thinking it odd

that she had not connected to any

of the women on the trip. She

seemed hurt and aloof, and I, in

turn, shied away from her.

One day we were doing a praise

dance during Vacation Bible School

when I saw her light up. She was a

dancer. After that day, all she wanted

to do was dance or talk nonstop.

I can only imagine what kind of

lies and hurtfulness she and other

girls have experienced in their brief

lives so far, and what kind of hurdles

lay ahead. When someone can

make them feel like a pearl, that re-

ally is "priceless," for both parties.

I also found that I could conquer

my own giants by going on a mission

trip. In the popular book Wild at Heart,

author John Eldredge says quite a bit

about spiritual warfare. About women

in particular, he says on page 182:

"Eve is the crown of creation,

remember? ... And so she is the

special target of the Evil One; he

turns his most vicious malice against

her. If he can destroy her or keep her

captive, he can ruin the story."

For me, one of those giants was

feeling inadequate or inferior as a

stay-at-home mom. The Evil One was

winning in my heart every time I ques-

tioned myself and the importance of

what I was doing. Going to Guyana in

obedience was a way for God to use

me by serving others, and therefore

gain spiritual strength to defeat a key

lie of the enemy.

GUyana

Outside their comfort zones!

As Jennifer steps out of her own comfort zone and dances into the lives of TracyAnn,Amanda, and Toshana (left to right), they in turn are able to lay down their broken livesfor a moment and spring into joyous play!

Page 9

(cont.➤)

Prentiss Findlay

St. James Episcopal Church

Charleston, S.C.

Animals are a part of daily life for

the 30 kids at the home in Cornelia

Ida, Guyana, run by Michael and

Michiel Campbell. Two cows wander

around the premises. Fowl is slaugh-

tered and served fresh for

dinner. A small dog was re-

named Lucky after Alcyone

heard his yelps and pulled

him from the mouth of an

anaconda.

Like Lucky, the kids

have been rescued from a

dangerous world beyond the

barbed-wire-topped fence

surrounding the forested

perimeter of Save-R-Kids.

I was among seven

missionaries from Saint

James who recently spent

10 days at Save-R-Kids.

Before the trip, I knew

Guyana as the place in the

news decades ago where

Jim Jones and his cult of followers

drank poisoned-laced Kool-Aid.

Upon arrival, I was struck by

the third-world appearance of the

airport. There is one runway. The

small terminal is a short walk from

the plane. The customs lady had a

question or two before putting the

first stamp in my new passport. This

was my first mission trip.

In the following days, I got to

know the kids. They came up with a

nickname for me, “Uncle Gray Bear.”

Like most kids, they liked to play jokes

on people, jump rope, and scurry

about at high speed. Understanding

them took some time. A Band-Aid

was a “patch.” Sometimes, I turned to

one kid to ask what another had said.

The children loved activities led

by the Saint James team. Slip-and-

slide on a long, narrow sheet of

soapy plastic was a big hit. So was

musical chairs. The kids delighted at

light-up yo-yos and bubble wands. I

wished that I had remembered to

bring kazoos. And they really liked

the rusty two-wheelers we fixed up.

“Uncle Gray Bear, can we ride

bikes?”

I suppose my nickname had

something to do with my size and

silver hair. I took it as a term of en-

dearment. Never had I seen such

enthusiasm for beat-up bikes. But

with new tires, any old bike be-

comes a joy in Guyana.

In addition to activities with the

kids, our days at Save-R-Kids in-

cluded worship songs led by Brent

Cooley and Bible study led by Pas-

tor Arthur Jenkins. At those times, I

felt the presence of the Holy Spirit

and I was blessed with a new under-

standing of Jesus’ parables in Luke

13 about the Kingdom of God—

words I had read dozens of times

about how the Kingdom is like yeast

worked into dough sud-

denly came alive in a

new way. The Kingdom

is here and now. The

Holy Spirit, the yeast, is

working in and through

us, the dough, to re-

claim a fallen creation

from the enemy.

As part of our mis-

sion, we worked to

spruce up Save-R-Kids

with new coats of paint

on an outdoor staircase.

Afterwards, our air condi-

tioned quarters felt like an

oasis. I drank lots of puri-

fied water dispensed

from 5-gallon jugs. We

were told not to drink the tap water.

Despite the precautions, I got sick.

Thankfully, the antibiotic Cipro pro-

vided by a team member brought

rapid relief from a queasy stomach.

We slept in bunk beds. During

power outages, which happened reg-

ularly, a noisy generator kicked in. A

tree frog lived in the toilet. From time-

to-time, bats made noises in the attic.

We spent 10 days in Guyana.

During that time, I felt that I had grown

spiritually through daily worship, Bible

study and prayer ministry. But I felt

there was much more to know about

the country and its people.

GUyana

Prentiss (better known as “Uncle Gray Bear” to the children) paintsan outdoor staircase on his first mission trip to the Save-R-kids children’s home in Cornelia ida, Guyana.

Page 10

(cont.➤)

Jonathan Sharp

Grace Church

High Point, N.C.

When I heard that my youth

group was going to Honduras again

for our annual missions trip, I was

really excited. It had been three

years since I had been on a mis-

sions trip.

This year our destination was

the village of Jano Viejo. It’s about

an eight-hour trip from San Pedro

Sula, where we flew into. We broke

the trip into two days, traveling four

hours into Olanchito to stay the

night, and planned to cover the rest

of the distance the next day.

When we left Olanchito I started

to hear the stories of how long this

stretch took the team that came last

year. To reach Jano Viejo, you have to

travel on dirt back roads. Last year,

there was a lot of rain, which made

the roads muddy and caused the

trucks to get stuck a lot. By the end of

the day it took them nine hours to

make the trip. But this year God

blessed us with dry weather and it

only took four hours.

One project our team was as-

signed was to dig an eight-foot septic

hole. We started the project alone with

guidance from the Honduran pastors

who had joined the trip. But it quickly

turned into a joint effort by both the

“gringos” and “catrachos” (a nick-

name for themselves, the Hondurans).

It became comical as we worked so

hard trying to dig the hole, and then a

Honduran man would jump in and

give us a break. He would work for

quite a while, being much more effec-

tive while using much less effort.

It was incredible as well as hum-

bling to watch a 60-year-old man put

us to shame with the work he did. But

also, this was the job we came to do

for them and they joined to help us. I

could not wrap my head around

that—why wouldn’t they just let us do

the work to serve them?

I started to understand as the

week wore on. They were reciprocat-

ing the love we showed them. We had

material possessions and some food

to give to them. With a bit of a lan-

guage barrier, the universal language

of love was spoken with actions and

this became the prevalent language

we spoke on this trip. We worked with

them, we played soccer with them,

we tried to speak their language, we

gave away our possessions, we

shared our food, to show them the

love that God had given us for them.

However, I feel like the love they

showed us in return was just as much

of a blessing to us as what we gave to

them. They joined us in our work, they

ate with us, the kids followed us

around everywhere and they all tried

to learn phrases of our language as

well. By the end of the week, they

knew each one of us for different rea-

sons. We felt the love toward them

that God has for them. In I Corinthians

3, it talks about how we’re God’s fel-

low workers—we plant and water the

seeds and He provides the increase.

On so many trips, it seems like

we only get to plant seeds. We pray

for people or tell them about Jesus

and then never see them again. But

this trip was different; we not only got

to plant the seed and tell them about

Jesus, but by forming relationships

and showing them love, we got to

water the seeds too, and now God

will provide the increase.

hondUraS

Page 11

Courage Carr, leader of Grace Church’s mission team, is affectionately attacked by the little friends he met last year in Jano veijo.

(cont.➤)

Fred Gilkeson

New River Community Church

Douglasville, GA

Our team hiked to Montenegro, [Honduras], one of

the poorest and neediest of all of the Tolupan villages. It is

very difficult to reach and rarely, if ever, has visitors. Even

their own government officials don’t make the journey.

When New River’s team arrived at Montenegro

after the four-hour hike, a villager asked them with great

surprise, “Who sent you?!” The team explained that

Pastor Luis of Sulaco had sent them and they were one

of the Frontline Missions’ teams, ready to serve the

people of Montenegro.

At first, the women and children were afraid of

these outsiders and were reluctant to come out of their

houses. The chief, however, was very welcoming to the

team and he showed interest in the solar mp3 players

we brought. Each player contained the New Testament

and basic lessons about being a Christian.

The chief could not believe that the team would

travel so far to his village and give them the mp3 play-

ers, as well as much-needed corn and rice. After per-

sonally experiencing how bare and desolate

Montenegro truly was, it felt very good to give where

the need was so great.

On the same day, the team, although already tired

from their hike to Montenegro, decided to hike straight

on to another village—Monterrey. A New River team

had visited Monterrey four years earlier and they de-

sired to make the four-hour trek to that village despite

their burned and blistered feet.

Once they arrived in the village, they were greeted

by many who remembered them. Karen Beard, a nurse

and one of this year’s team members, had delivered a

baby on that first visit, and she was able to find the now

4-year-old child. At first the family didn’t recognize her

but soon they began to rejoice with Karen at this

blessed reunion!

The team continued handing out rice, corn and more

mp3 players. We gave one player to Loris, a teacher visit-

ing from Sulaco. She was elated to receive it because it

has been a desire of her heart to take the Word of God to

the Tolupan—now she could use the mp3 player to do so.

The team was able to “commission” Loris for the desire

and work that God had placed in her heart. It is remarkable

how God orchestrates people’s paths to cross.

hondUraS

Page 12

The team from new River hikes to a remote village in Honduras to hand out much-needed corn, rice, and even solar-powered mp3 players.This team actually visited two villages in one day—Montenegro and Monterrey—hiking for a total of eight grueling hours.

❈

Sleep evaded me as the hard-

est rain I have ever seen pounded

down on Flower Mountain, Hon-

duras. Various scenarios ran

through my mind. What precautions

should we take in traveling back

down the mountain road? Would we

be able to cross the already high

rivers that were surely rising by the

minute?

I repeated prayers of safety for

everyone and asked the Lord for

guidance. For days He had been

stirring my heart to pray for the

safety of this trip, and earlier that

week my wife Heidi described an

unusually heavy burden she felt to

pray against danger. I was listening.

I was on guard.

By morning the ankle-deep

creek by the community center

where we stayed had risen above

six feet. I had never seen this in

mountainous La Ceibita. I realized

my nighttime concerns had not

been unfounded, since even on a

good day the road was fairly poor—

not to mention after a deluge.

At breakfast we decided as a

team to cancel that day's ministry

plans and make the road passable

instead. We loaded three pick-ups

with shovels, ropes, pry-bars, and a

chainsaw, and went to inspect the

road.

A mile down we found a gaping

trench, five feet deep and ranging

from eight to almost 20 feet wide.

Such a gap was not passable with

4x4 trucks, motorcycles, or horses.

Searching the area, we discovered

a four-foot-high boulder nearby.

After several hours, eight of us man-

aged to roll it 30 feet and down into

the trench.

Next, we cut four trees to span

the gaps from the rock to the origi-

nal road. After six hours we had

built a bridge and partial dam, finally

enabling us to cross. One mile of

the road completed—eleven miles

to go.

Two miles further down, we

came to a river crossing where a

large tree had fallen directly on the

ford. Using the chainsaw just above

the water’s surface, we cut the tree

into short logs that floated down the

river in no time, and thank-

hondUraS

Page 13

By Alan & Heidi Winter

One day on Flower Mountain

Putting his frequently used problem-solving skills to work, Alan sizes up the huge, gapinghole in the road from the village of la Ceibita, Honduras, which blocks the team’s pathback to the airport and their flight home.

(cont.➤)

fully the river was just low enough to

cross at that point. Three miles

down—eight to go.

After we crossed over, some lo-

cals told us the rest of the road was

okay for travel, so we decided not

to work any further in that direction.

We began anticipating a well-

earned meal and a good night’s

sleep—but when we returned to the

river we found a new problem wait-

ing on us. Though we had cleared

the river of the tree, the logjam we

created caused the already-precari-

ous water level to rise and swamp

the crossing with a pile of mud and

sand.

A few team members worked

carefully in the swift, dangerous cur-

rent to move logs and debris, and

after ninety minutes the jam was

cleared. When the water level

dropped eight inches, I decided to

attempt to cross the river myself.

When we entered the ford I

suddenly realized we were in trou-

ble. The 4x4 was not going to make

it through the piled-up sediment

against the current. The rocks I felt

earlier when walking the river had

shifted, and our tires began spinning

in foot-deep sand and mud. The

rushing waters shoved the 4x4 into

the deepest channel, making it act

as a dam. Water began pouring into

the floorboards. Although I was

standing on the gas pedal, we were

stuck.

The next minute, the current

began sweeping us down river. I

cried out, "God, help us," and threw

the truck into reverse. How we were

able to get any

footing in re-

verse is be-

yond me—it

must have

been God’s

miraculous

provision.

Even now as I

recount this, I

am reminded

of the verse,

“He set my

feet upon a

rock," (Ps.

40:2).

Once we

were safely on

the other

bank, we

thanked God

and prayed

that the river would drop further. We

had just decided to park our trucks

there and walk back to La Ceibita

when another small mission group

drove up in an SUV.

With difficulty we finally per-

suaded them to park their vehicle

on our side and stay the night with

us. A husband and wife were lead-

ing this team, and the wife ex-

pressed relief at our presence,

saying she was sure her husband

would have tried to cross if we had

not stopped them. Since their SUV

was lighter and lower than ours they

would surely have met with disaster.

We were convinced the Lord al-

lowed us to be stranded at the river

for this other team’s safety.

Realizing how tired the team

had become, I started to make the

four-and-a-half mile run back to

camp to retrieve the sole truck left

behind. But after the exertion of the

day I could hardly keep moving.

Just after the first mile, I came upon

a home where I had previously

helped a family.

Remarkably, they had a visiting

friend with a motorcycle, and he

took me the rest of the way back to

camp. After transporting the team

back, we found enough mattresses

for our six guests from the other

team and had a wonderful night’s

sleep without rain.

Thankfully, by the morning the

rivers had dropped, and we trav-

elled past all but one of them with-

out incident. Unusually, we had

cellular reception at this time, so I

called Heidi all the way back in the

U.S. to fill her in on how

hondUraS

Page 14

Brandon Jones (left) and a Honduran friend (middle) ultimatelycame up with the solution: rolling a four-foot boulder across thirtyfeet into the river to form a makeshift bridge.

(cont.➤)

we had been progressing.

I rarely communicate with her

this often when I am on a trip to

Central America, but for some rea-

son I sensed a need to be in touch.

Heidi urged that we still needed to

be alert, watchful, and prayerful.

She continued to stress that al-

though the events from the previous

days seemed extreme, she still was

not convinced we were out of trou-

ble yet.

At the same time, our inter-

preter Cristy called her mother, who

also said she had been warned in a

dream to pray for this trip even

more than usual. Later we would

learn that Honduran pastor Luis

Romero’s wife, Lucia, was also di-

vinely led to pray for us during that

time. We prayed as a team and

went back to driving, alert for any-

thing else that might spring up.

Within ten minutes of praying

and warning everyone to be careful,

just as we were crossing the final

river, I looked in the rear-view mirror

and watched in total shock as one

of our trucks simply began to veer

off the road—straight toward a ten-

foot drop.

“What is going on?” I cried.

“What is happening?” At once I

imagined the possible outcome. At

the bottom of the ravine large boul-

ders waited to totally destroy the

truck. It teetered precariously on the

edge of the road and the ravine.

“If that truck goes off the edge

any further,” I thought, “it is sure to

flip and land on those boulders up-

side down. God, please stop them.

Don’t let the truck roll!” Instantly the

driver’s door sprang open and the

three people in the cab scrambled

out. As Cristy was jumping clear of

the unstable truck, she exclaimed to

her sister, Meily, “This

hondUraS

Page 15

Many prayers are sent to the throne of God as Alan and his team try to keep one of their trucks from rolling over into a rocky ravine. Thetruck was eventually saved, and mercifully, no passengers were hurt during the incident.

(cont.➤)

must be why Mom was praying

extra hard for us on this trip!”

Meanwhile the truck teetered

on the edge of the ravine. By an act

of God, it had hung up on some-

thing. Everyone jumped out of the

other trucks, working swiftly to tie

off the truck with two towropes.

Before anyone could yell out or-

ders, our Honduran brethren were

on the lower side of the vehicle,

bracing the truck with their very bod-

ies. Did they not realize how danger-

ous it was? Did they think through

the consequences if the truck began

to roll? The truck normally would

have been loaded with team mem-

bers in the back, but thanks to God,

no one had chosen to ride in that

truck—otherwise, more lives would

have been at stake.

I knew that as dangerous as

the truck was teetering there on the

ravine's edge, pulling it out would

match or even exceed our previous

experience in danger. I needed forti-

fied prayer, and I knew who could

get the ball rolling.

I quickly dialed, desperately

hoping to get an answer on the

other end. Seconds stretched into

an eternity. Then I heard what I was

longing for. “Hello?” I was so re-

lieved to hear Heidi’s voice! “Heidi,

you have to get everyone praying!” I

cried out quickly. “Call all the inter-

cessors and get them on this right

away.”

I explained the dangerous situ-

ation, and over the next two hours

while we worked, the Lord’s throne

room was filled with pleas, petitions,

and prayers on our behalf by more

than two hundred people all across

the United States. Individuals and

even large prayer chains immedi-

ately went into action on behalf of

our “troops.”

Among the team the stress was

escalating; confusion from the enemy

was trying to set in, and our emotions

were high. Switching between two

languages added to the frustration of

such tense circumstances.

We worked furiously, attempt-

ing to safeguard the truck from

going down. Numerous rocks were

gathered to build up a path under-

neath the tires; then we poured

gravel and sand between the rocks.

Miraculously it held the weight of the

truck as we eased it back on to the

original road.

Working together as a team,

we were thrilled to get the truck on

the road without any damage—but,

more importantly, without any harm

to anyone on our team. Within a few

more miles, and without further inci-

dent, we were down the mountain

and headed back to the safety of

the States.

The Lord truly is “El Shaddai"—

our all in all. He warned us, He

stirred the saints to pray, and He

protected us in the end. Indeed

serving the Lord is not about doing

mighty deeds on our own but about

relying on Jesus to engage His

troops together for His purposes

and His glory.

hondUraS

Page 16

navigating six river crossings is only one of the many obstacles in reaching the abused andoppressed tribe of the Tolupan natives in Honduras. Heavy rains made this trip up FlowerMountain especially treacherous, but God’s protection was evident every step of the way.

❈

hondUraS

In our last issue, we wrote about our divinely led re-

lationship and history with the Tolupan natives (read “A

Forgotten People”).

In January 2011, the Tolupan leadership asked to

meet with us to discuss plans to develop their econ-

omy. They asked if Frontline could assist them in revers-

ing the cycle of hunger and dependency on the

“coyotes” (the loan sharks that grossly take advantage

of their plight). Their pleas ignited the search for a proj-

ect that would help them become independent. We

went home praying and they went home dreaming.

Last April, the leaders gathered and told us that they

wanted to greatly increase their coffee production. They

asked if we could help them develop their coffee products.

Helping them would involve financing loans, finding honest

buyers, and training them in how to improve their harvest.

We made the commitment by faith that God would

provide the finances. Praise to the King of Kings—He

provided the needed funds within 30 minutes of the

meeting! Before the Tolupan talked to us about the

loans, God moved one family on the team to give us

$10,000. After the meeting, which they did not attend,

they approached me and asked if I had a need for

$10,000 (the exact amount needed to begin the coffee

project). I love how the Lord uses every one of His chil-

dren to accomplish His purposes!

Over the past year, the Lord has used Redeemer

Lutheran Church, Landmark Christian School, New

River Community Church, Beulah Baptist Church, and

Grace Church of Fredericksburg, Virginia, to continue to

reach the Tolupan by loving them, training their leaders,

holding medical and dental clinics, playing soccer, pro-

viding food for malnourished children, purchasing

crafts, and building hope for both now and eternity.

Recently, Meily Garrido, Frontline Missions’ execu-

tive director in Honduras, held another coffee project

meeting with the Tolupan on Flower Mountain. Meily

brought a Honduran coffee exporter/processor to the

meeting, who explained to the Tolupan that he could

open a direct international market to sell their coffee, re-

moving two levels of middlemen. These middlemen

have historically taken advantage of the Tolupan natives

by paying low prices that eliminate the growers’ well-de-

served profits, so this new strategy of direct marketing

could be extremely helpful for the impoverished Tolupan

tribe. We have also been given a possible opportunity to

partner with a previous buyer for transporting the coffee,

which would make him an ally instead of an exploiter.

Please pray that God gives us wisdom as we at-

tempt to make this transition as smooth as possible.

While we would like to believe that solving such problems

is simple, change doesn’t come easily in third-world

countries. We must pray for safety for those involved with

the project, as changes are displeasing to people who

have profited from exploiting the Tolupan in the past.

Our prayer is that our efforts to help the Tolupan

produce high-quality coffee will bring about a new fu-

ture for them—one of economic independence, confi-

dence, and hope.

Page 17

By Alan Winter

Savannah Moody, a landmark Christian School student, seizesthe opportunity to love on a Tolupan child, whose future could bepositively impacted by the planned coffee-growing project.

Coffee project to bring hope, freedom

❈

Chavarr ia min iStry

I remember that night as if it was

yesterday—the preacher quoting from

Isaiah 6, “Who shall I send? And who

shall go for us?” My heart pumping

like never before, melting, tears in my

eyes, and this crazy idea in my mind:

“I will go, Lord, send me!”

Since then, our kids have grown

up. Many of those years have been

spent on the missions field. We have

gone through good times and hard

times, but through all these years,

God has always been faithful.

Every time I have the oppor-

tunity of sharing about missions in

front of a congregation, I love to

invite them to be part of a short-

term mission trip. I tell them to go

with us or somebody else, but

please go. “I promise you that

your life will never, ever, ever be

the same.” Come once and see

how others live, and how blessed

you are.

The blessing is not only to

be able to go and do something

good for somebody else. This is

very good, but the real blessing is

that God will use the whole expe-

rience in ways we cannot even

imagine. He will minister to our

lives and draw us closer to Him.

It could be among the Lenca

people or with Pastor Franklin in

Honduras. It could be at the retreat

center construction site or the Farm

Project with Pastor Eliseo in

Nicaragua. It could be sharing tracts

or preaching on the streets of

Sincelejo, Colombia, with Pastor Eze-

quiel. Every time we go, God is al-

ready there.

The main reason that I am

moved to write about this is twofold.

First of all, it is a fact that there are

millions and millions of people who

need to hear the powerful love story

of the resurrected Son of God, the

Christ. But secondly, amazing bless-

ings are ready for those who simply

and plainly decide to trust God, no

matter what. The first part is about

receiving everything—the second

part is about giving back everything.

This was a great year for us. A

year full of contrasts, full of joy, and

some tears. God allowed us to get

our hands dirty, mix mud with people

in other countries, and help with the

building of an adobe church. He al-

lowed us to participate in a retreat to

share and pray and see pastoral cou-

ples being restored. He allowed us to

speak to individuals, pastors, leaders

and whole congregations in person,

and allowed us to reach thousands

and thousands through radio, TV, and

the internet.

We were able to minister to

people who speak Spanish and/or

English, to Amerindians, to Ameri-

cans, to Central Americans and to

South Americans.

Our God is an amazing God.

Those times when we thought we

did not have the resources, He

provided. When there were hur-

dles, He took care of them. He

opened new doors and closed

others as He pleased, just to pour

out His blessings on us.

We have witnessed new

churches, new disciples, great

projects, new countries, and new

dreams. The truth is, we do not

have what it takes. But He does!

Our hearts are full of gratitude

for all of those individuals and

churches that came to serve with

us this year. We are grateful for all

of those who have been co-labor-

ers with us for the Kingdom. Along

with all of that, we are rejoicing for

the hope we have in Christ Jesus—

knowing that He who began the

good work in us will be faithful to

complete it.

Page 18

do you have what it takes?By Luis Chavarria

Millions of needy people in remote regions needour compassion—this is why we feel compelledto return to the mission field again and again.

❈

Missionsfrontline

5600 Short Road, Fairburn, Georgia 30213

Contact: 770.774.0641 | info@fmusa.org

the people behind Front l ine...

Alan & Heidi Winter Harry & Diane Calsbeek Luis & Karen Chavarria Elizabeth Pearman